


Guardian

by Katuary



Series: Thunder and Lightning [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Apostates (Dragon Age), Blue-Purple Hawke (Dragon Age), Family, Gen, Hawke Family (Dragon Age) Feels, Magical Accidents, Protective Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:01:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22442236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katuary/pseuds/Katuary
Summary: At thirteen, Marian is used to staying on the road with her family. When Bethany's powers manifest for the first time, everything changes.
Series: Thunder and Lightning [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1477754
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Guardian

**Author's Note:**

> ~~Baby Hawke doo doo doo doo doo doo~~

"Okay, I spy..."

" _Marian._ "

"I'm just passing the time, Carv. Sheesh."

Marian jabbed her father's dagger into the dirt. She _hated_ waiting. Mother and Father had to stop in the small village for potion supplies, so she was responsible for protecting the twins. Better safe than sorry if there were any templars around. They would probably let Mother go, but the three Hawke children were young enough for magic to manifest in any one of them. 

Marian hoped it was her. She could do a better job defending Mother and the twins if she had magic. At thirteen, though, that hope was waning fast. Most children showed signs far earlier, and she was well into a relentless growth spurt. Still lanky as a stray dog, but nearly her father's height and rising. Carver liked to tease her about having the biggest hands in the family too. _Obviously_ jealous.

She plopped down to the grass and propped herself up on one elbow. She could _just_ make out the silhouette of the tower in the distance. _Fu--flipping thing._ _Why_ they had to pass so close to Kinloch Hold to get good healing herbs was beyond her. Weren't there Tranquil in other cities who would supply them? 

Ugh. The place was barely visible and it gave her the creeps.

"Bethy!" She rolled onto her stomach and playfully tugged her sister's hand. "Get down here. Carver won't play."

Bethany frowned, but sat cross-legged next to her. "We did everything though..." Her gaze kept wandering to the distant tower. Marian rolled to her back and pulled Bethany down with her.

"Clouds then!" she said brightly, "That one looks like a--" _Like a sword._ "--okay, not much of anything. But the one next to it looks like a rabbit."

"Okay..." Bethany scrunched her nose and shielded her eyes from the bright sun. "What about...that one?"

Marian laughed and nudged her, "What, you're not playing either?"

"You're better at it. I'll pick, you say what it is."

"Okay, okay. Um..." She chuckled. "Beehive. You can see all the little worker bees swarming around it."

"That's just a nug head," Carver protested, crossing his arms, "With fleas."

Marian tried not to be _too_ smug about getting him to join in. She bit her lip to hide a smirk. "Nug head then. What's next, Beth?"

Bethany giggled and indicated the next target with a wild hand motion.

And an accompanying puff of steam.

They all froze for a beat before Bethany sprang to her feet and burst into tears.

"I'm _sorry!_ I didn't mean to! I didn't! I just--"

Marian pulled her baby sister into her lap and shook her head. "Shh. Beth, it's okay. We know what to do, remember?" She glanced to her other side. "Carv?"

"I know," he said, already rising to his feet. A worried frown creased his face. "Should be small enough that no one saw, right? As long as--"

"It should," she interrupted, scanning what she could see of the horizon. "We'll stay here for now. Wait for Father to return. Keep an eye out. Beth?"

"I'm _sorry_..." She was still crying. Breathing too quickly. 

"You don't have anything to be sorry for," Marian reminded her, gently brushing hair out of Bethany's pale face, "Can you breathe with me? It'll make you feel better." And the calmer she was, the less vulnerable she was to any further accidental magic. Or worse. "I've got you. _We've_ got you. You know that, right?"

“But then the templars would hurt you and Carver!”

“Hurt us? Oh, no, Bethy. Carv and you would go hide while I talked their _clanging ears off_. They’d be so irritated, they’d forget why they were here in the first place!”

“No they won’t! Don’t joke! They’d take us all away! Father said they would...”

”No one saw anything, Beth,” she interrupted gently, “Just you, me, and Carver. Okay?”

The younger girl calmed slightly with a sniffle and nod. Marian combed a hand through her sister’s hair.   
  
“Mother and Father will be back soon,” she reminded her, “We’ll have a story while we wait. What do you say?”

Bethany burrowed into her lap, making herself as small as possible, and nodded.

”You might have to help me tell it,” Marian warned playfully, brushing Bethany’s tear tracks away with her thumbs, “You remember the sweet ones better than me. And Carver only knows ‘Dane and the Werewolf.’”

Carver scoffed from his lookout posting, but didn’t turn to look at them. “At least I know _all_ the words to mine.”

Marian blew a raspberry. “Hush, you. Or I’ll tell the one about how Mother and Father met instead.”

Carver gagged and Bethany giggled. Marian smiled to herself and began,

”Once, there was a kind princess who lived in a beautiful kingdom. They were famed in every land for their gardens, and the princess spent all the time she could spare there. She liked to...hm. What was it? Practice archery?”

Bethany shook her head, fraying a stray string on her skirt. “She painted.”

”That’s right. How could I forget? She liked to paint near the ponds, and watch the fish and ducks swim by. But she found something watching her as she painted one day—“

”A big nasty toad,” Carver interjected, “Covered in warts and eating flies.”

Bethany wrinkled her nose. “Ew, Carv. No.”

Marian chuckled. “Beth’s right. No toad, just a perfectly reasonably sized and _well-groomed_ little frog. Shall I continue? Now, the frog watched the princess for some time, his little frog eyes following every stroke of her paintbrush. Since he seemed so appreciative, she thought it would be polite to curtsy and ask him what he thought. To her surprise--"

" _Mer!"_ Carver whispered urgently, "Someone's coming!"

Carver had sharper eyes than either of them. He would have spotted whoever it was long before they were a threat. Hopefully, that would give the twins enough time to hide.

Bethany stiffened in her sister's arms, but Marian shook her head. "Bethy, it'll be okay. Go with Carver." Marian squeezed Bethany's hands once before Carver led the terrified girl to the treeline.

Marian's eyes narrowed as she stood, taking her father's dagger in hand once again. She wasn't much good with it, lacking any finesse or patience, but she could make herself a headache long enough to give her siblings a head start. She gripped the weapon tightly and advanced to the rock where Carver had kept watch. Two figures in plain traveling cloaks, laden with baskets. Neither seemed to have a weapon, but the taller of the two was using a shiny walking stick. Shiny and gold with a figurine at the top.

_Wait._

Her face broke into a relieved grin. She looked over her shoulder. "It's all right. Just Mother and Father."

She ran down to meet them, launching herself at her father and wrapping her arms around his middle. He cupped her head against him and she very nearly felt his frown.

”Marian. What’s wrong, cub?”

She took a shaking breath and distantly noticed the twins running to Mother. Despite it all, she remembered what Father told her to say.

”Bethany had an accident.”

“I see.” Father squeezed her close once before releasing Marian. Mother held the twins close, ghost-white and trembling nearly as much as Bethany.

”Malcolm, the tower’s too close...”

”I know, Lia. Bethany?” He knelt in front of the little girl and gently pressed his hand to her shoulder. The child nodded and turned her tearful gaze to him. “Everything will be all right. We’ll keep you safe. Can you believe me?”

Another quavering nod. “Okay.”

* * *

They couldn't return to the farm where they'd sheltered the night before. Bethany wasn't used to hiding her abilities yet, and there was no telling if the little family would send for the templars. Thankfully, they always carried their belongings with them. It wasn't much, but their tent could fit most of the family. 

Carver and Marian sat a short distance from the campsite. Soft murmurs drifted from inside the tent, punctuated by Bethany's protests or Mother's humming. She always sang or hummed when they were sick. Mother had a pretty voice, refined and soft from lessons she'd had as a girl. Father couldn't carry a tune to save his life, but had a mellow way of speaking that put most anyone immediately at ease. Marian couldn't recall ever hearing him raise his voice. He didn't need to; he made you understand exactly why a lesson was important. 

The tent opened and both siblings leapt to their feet the moment their father approached. 

"How is she?"

"Can I help?"

Father nodded. "She'll be alright," he assured them, "She's sleeping inside with your mother."

Carver frowned and took a half step toward the tent. "Can I go see her?"

"As long as you're quiet, cub. You did well with her today. Both of you."

Marian watched her brother disappear inside before sitting next to her father. Neither of them spoke for a long time, but she was the first to break the silence. 

"When did you know you were a mage?" she asked finally, keeping her voice low, "It was younger than Bethany, wasn't it?"

"It was. Young enough that I don't remember much about it, unfortunately."

Marian drew loose spirals in the dirt with her finger and avoided looking at her father. Peevishly, she realized his copper-brown eye color was yet another thing only Bethany had inherited from him. She let out a defeated sigh. 

"...I'm not a mage, am I?"

He considered for a bare second before shaking his head. "Likely not."

Did he _have_ to sound so relieved? She swept her scribbled lines into dust. "Well, I _wish_ I was."

"And why is that?"

"I could protect us better! I could...shoot fire at people that would hurt Beth."

"That would only draw more attention, wouldn't it?" he observed mildly. Marian huffed and drew her knees to her chest. 

"I guess."

"And you did well protecting her today without any magic." He pressed her shoulder softly until she looked up. "Didn't you?"

"Well..." She frowned. "I didn't have to fight anyone though."

"Because you didn't need to. You kept her calm, but you were ready to fight for her if necessary. What do I always say?"

"Words before weapons. I know." Marian considered that for a moment before brightening abruptly. "You think I can keep protecting her?"

"That's still my job," he corrected gently, "But it will fall to you and Carver when you're older. Could you do that for me, cub?"

Marian nodded vigorously, already dreaming up ways to fight. She would need to be stronger to fight templars. Faster. Scary enough that when most people saw her, they'd run the other way before thinking about laying a _finger_ on her family.

"Of course! I promise. I'll keep her safe."

He tucked an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "That's my girl."

**Author's Note:**

> “I want to live my life  
> The way you said I would  
> With courage as my light  
> Fighting for what's right  
> Like you made me believe I could”
> 
> Malcolm is a _huge_ influence on my Hawke. The self-sacrifice for the good of everyone else gene gets activated early.
> 
> And then all but two of them die in the next fourteen years.
> 
> I really wish they had more time together as a family. Since the Hawkes settle in Lothering in 9:20, I always assumed that was when Bethany's powers first manifested (although that doesn't make much sense in a universe where Hawke is also a mage). And then they only get seven years of relative peace before Malcolm dies. And after that...Hawke pretty much loses a family member one way or another every few years. 
> 
> Oh, and, for the record, I don't hate Carver (I have an alternate playthrough with mage Hawke and I love their rivalry dynamic to pieces, poor guy). I just love Protective Big Sister Hawke and Bethany more. Plus their relationship reminds me more of how I grew up with my siblings. And Bethany is goddamn adorable. And I'm a sucker for the "opposites attract" trope, and wanted to have one protagonist of each class.


End file.
